Younghill Kang

Born in 1903 in what is now known as North Korea, Younghill Kang was educated in Korea, and Japan. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1921, finishing his education in Boston and Cambridge. A prolific writer, Kang published articles in The New York Times, The Nation, The Saturday Review of Literature, and the Encyclopædia Britannica, among others. While teaching English at New York University, he became friends with fellow professor Thomas Wolfe, who introduced him to Scribner's editor Maxwell Perkins. Kang's first book, The Grass Roof, was published by Scribner's in 1931. A children's book based on Kang's early life entitled The Happy Grove was published in 1933, and East Goes West was released in 1937. Throughout his life, Kang was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including two Guggenheim fellowships, the New School's Louis S. Memorial Prize, and an honorary doctorate in literature from Koryo University. Au Matin du Pays Calme, the French translation of The Grass Roof, won Le Prix Halperine Kaminsky, France's annual award for best book in translation. Kang died in 1972 at his home in Satellite Beach, Florida.